Nor'easter to bring NYC snow, even colder conditions this week

The city is due to warm up a bit Wednesday — but that will just be a tease for snow and dangerous wind chills later in the week.

A powerful nor'easter is expected to starting plopping snow on the city Thursday morning and possibly produce wind chills as low as -20 degrees before the week is done.

The early projections are for the nor'easter to drop 2-4 inches of snow Thursday, affecting that day's morning commute.

But the arctic winds that the nor'easter will bring will be even more concerning; the wind chill Friday night into Saturday could be as low as -10 to -20 degrees, as wind gusts will be, at times, 30 to 40 miles per hour.

Temperatures were in the low-20s or teens Tuesday night, with wind chills overnight expected to be in the single-digits.

Sunshine is expected Wednesday during the daytime, with wind chills climbing into the low-20s before the nor'easter starts freezing the city.

Jet streams of cold and moisture, which are in the Gulf of Mexico and in the northern part of the U.S., are projected to come together to produce the monstrous nor'easter, which will be just south of the city early-Thursday morning. The nor'easter could even bring snow as far south as northern Florida on Wednesday, and will create blizzard conditions over portions of New England.

The strongest of the storm is expected to stay over the Atlantic Ocean. By Thursday night, the storm will move away from the city but pull in the arctic winds. High temperatures will be in the teens Friday and Saturday.

By Monday, however, the city could see a high temperature of 40 degrees.

Tuesday marked the eighth consecutive day below freezing in the city. The record is 16-straight freezing days.

Monday was the city's coldest New Year's Day on-record, with temperatures maxing out at 1 degree, with wind chills in the negatives.

New York is not the only place that has faced a deep freeze. The cold snap is wreaking havoc across a wide swath of the United States, from South Texas to New England, and even froze the Chicago River.

The dangerously low temperatures are being blamed for at least nine deaths.

The cold temperatures even forced Disney to close its water parks Tuesday. In Houston, meanwhile, ice formed on bridges and overpasses, leading to multiple crashes on some of the area's major highways.